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A Flag of Truce

A Flag of Truce

Description

By late 1864 the war was coming to an end. In December Gen. William T. Sherman completed his destructive march to the sea. Richmond, the Confederate capital, fell early in April, and on April 9, Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. Over the course of the war, some 623,000 Northern and Southern soldiers died.

This towel was used as a flag of truce by Confederate troops during Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865. It was preserved by Gen. George A. Custer, who was present at the surrender.

Comments

The Appomattox flag of truce was a handwoven white towel originally owned by Confederate Captain R.M. Sims of Richmond, VA. It was given by him to General Lee, as no other white flag or fabric was readily available to the surrendering Confederate army. It would be appropriate to mention Captain Sims in the description of this very historic item.
My cousins are direct descendants of Captain Sims through their father, and may have more information. passed down through their family.

In fact it was Lt. Col.. Whitaker who took the towel. He cut it in two and gave half to Custer’s wife, who later donated it to the Smithsonian. Full story here: http://www.whatitmeanstobeamerican.org/artifacts/the-gentlemans-agreement-that-ended-the-civil-war/

"To be more accurate, General Custer received this flag of truce when it was sent to him by Robert E. Lee on the morning of April 9, 1865, leading to Lee's formal surrender later in the day. This event was witnessed by famed Civil War sketch artist Alfred Waud in his work entitled "Custer Receives the Flag of Truce " now at the Library of Congress. Custer was not in the room for Lee's signing of the formal terms of surrender. "

Ed Custard

Thu, 2015-04-09 11:35

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